January 12, 2013

Three years after the worst natural disaster in the history of the Americas — the Jan. 12, 2010, earthquake in Haiti — reconstruction has barely begun.

So far, the promise by aid groups to "Build Haiti back, better" remains just that, with hope fading.

That's the feeling that emerges from interviews with two journalists who have written books about what's happened since the earthquake.
The titles of their books hint at why.
Farewell, Fred Voodoo: A Letter from Haiti, gets its title from a conversation author Amy Wilentz had in 1986, the first year she reported from Haiti. Fred Voodoo was foreign correspondents' jargon for what might now be called a streeter (from the old phrase, "man in the street interview").

For Wilentz, the name "sums up outsider attitudes that are ongoing to this day, of lumping all Haitians together and considering them as one downtrodden mass that is superstitious and weird and alien to the outside world."

That Fred Voodoo attitude, she tells CBC News, leads to many decisions being made by aid organizations without input from Haitians, and to the problems that then result.

'The big truck that went by'

A number of things led to Jonathan Katz titling his book, The Big Truck That Went By: How the World Came to Save Haiti and Left Behind a Disaster. He wants the title to resonate with readers as an image of aid caravans driving by and continuing on their way but it's also from an early name for the 2010 earthquake in Creole that translates as 'the big truck went by.'

In the very first moments, "a lot of us mistook it for a big truck going by," he tells CBC News. The sounds and sensations of trucks were part of life in Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital, before the quake devastated the city, he says.

Katz was The Associated Press correspondent in Haiti from 2007 to 2012, when he left staff to write his book.

Of course, there has been some progress. The UN Office for Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says in 2012 about 161,000 left the camps and 262 camps were closed. However 358,000 people are still living in camps in conditions that are rapidly deteriorating, according to OCHA.

Some families left camps because aid agencies gave them $500 in payments called "return cash grants," to pay rent to live somewhere else. That money can cover the cost of non-camp housing for about a year.

With the nation in the grip of a severe influenza outbreak that has seen deaths reach epidemic levels, New York State declared a public health emergency on Saturday, making access to vaccines more easily available.

There have been nearly 20,000 cases of flu reported across the state so far this season, officials said. Last season, 4,400 positive laboratory tests were reported.

“We are experiencing the worst flu season since at least 2009, and influenza activity in New York State is widespread, with cases reported in all 57 counties and all five boroughs of New York City,” Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said in a statement.

Under the order, pharmacists will be allowed to administer flu vaccinations to patients between 6 months and 18 years old, temporarily suspending a state law that prohibits pharmacists from administering immunizations to children.

While children and older people tend to be the most likely to become seriously ill from the flu, Mr. Cuomo urged all New Yorkers to get vaccinated.

On Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta said that deaths from the flu had reached epidemic levels, with at least 20 children having died nationwide. Officials cautioned that deaths from pneumonia and the flu typically reach epidemic levels for a week or two every year. The severity of the outbreak will be determined by how long the death toll remains high or if it climbs higher.

There was some evidence that caseloads may be peaking, federal officials said on Friday.

In New York City, public health officials announced on Thursday that flu-related illnesses had reached epidemic levels, and they joined the chorus of authorities urging people to get vaccinated.

The recent outbreak of influenza in our province has many Edmontonians rethinking the notion of getting vaccinated.

Since August, there have been over 1,100 confirmed cases of the flu in our province. Over 450 of those cases were here in Edmonton.

Dr. Marcia Johnson, a Medical Officer of Health with Alberta Health Services (AHS) says the number of cases of influenza is up this year compared to previous years.

As of January 5, public health had given approximately 149,000 doses of influenza vaccine but, that number doesn't take into account the people who were immunized by their doctor or pharmacist.

"Certainly, the numbers immunized by public health in the Edmonton area is less than it was last year," Johnson explained.

The increase in the number of cases of the flu has led to capacity pressures at area hospitals, partially because more people than usual are requesting treatment for influenza-like and gastro-intestinal-type illnesses, according to AHS. The strain on the health care system led to the cancellation of at least five surgeries in Edmonton.

But, Johnson says over the past week, the number of people coming into public health centres to get immunized has increased.

"With all the attention, people have realized that it's here and it's causing trouble and it feels awful."

It's not too late to get immunized, and because viruses can be very different, immunization is still recommended for those who have already had a dose of the flu.

Firefighters were battling scores of wildfires raging in Australia Saturday, as a government commission warned that climate change had raised the risk of scorching heatwaves becoming more frequent.

In the eastern state of New South Wales, some 1,000 firefighters were attempting to douse about 94 wildfires, about dozen uncontained, while fires were also burning in neighbouring Victoria and Queensland states.

And in the southern island state of Tasmania, known for its cooler temperatures, residents were returning to the burnt-out homes they fled a week ago when flames raced through villages on the Tasman peninsula.

No deaths have been reported from the bushfires, which have flared during extreme summer temperatures, but the unprecedented heatwave has prompted the government's Climate Commission to issue a new report on the weather event.

It says that climate change has contributed to making the extreme heat conditions -- in which record-breaking temperatures in parts of the country have topped 45 degrees Celsius (113 F) -- and bushfires worse.

"Although Australia has always had heatwaves, hot days and bushfires, climate change is increasing the risk of more frequent and longer heatwaves and more extreme hot days, as well as exacerbating bushfire conditions."

It says while many factors influence the potential for bushfires, so called "fire weather" is highly sensitive to changes in climatic conditions.

And hotter temperatures, longer heatwaves, high winds and drier soils and grasses can all dramatically exacerbate fire conditions.

"Thus when fire occurs in more extreme weather conditions, there is the potential for the fire to be far more intense and difficult to control," the report said.

One of the report's authors David Karoly said there was clear evidence of an increasing trend in hot extremes in Australia, where the current heatwave has affected more than 70 percent of the vast continent nation.

Karoly said the current heatwave, which began in December, saw the average maximum daily temperature across the whole of Australia hit a 40.3 degrees Celsius on January 7, breaking a record of 40.17 C which had stood since 1972.

"That's an amazing temperature," he told AFP. "No cool areas offsetting the record heat. What we've been experiencing this week... people have been calling it a 'dome' of hot air."

Thousands of children across typhoon-hit Mindanao island in the southern Philippines will return to school on 14 January, more than a week later than schools elsewhere in the country, as officials struggle to get education back on its feet.

“Never before have we had to deal with devastation of this magnitude. But we need to establish some kind of normalcy for the children,” Dodong Atillo, a communications officer with the Department of Education, told IRIN.

A state of national calamity was declared by President Benigno Aquino on 7 December. The opening of schools after Christmas was delayed as many schools were being used as evacuation centres.

According to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), 569 schools, both primary and secondary, were damaged or destroyed by the storm, resulting in US$24.5 million worth of damage; 231,681 students were affected.

While classes will resume in schools that were partially damaged, children whose schools were totally destroyed will be taught in tents erected outside, UNICEF said.

“What we see is the devastation of the entire education system, not just damage to classrooms,” said Yul Olaya, a UNICEF emergency education officer from Davao.

In the municipalities of Boston, Cateel and Baganga in Davao Oriental, there are only two schools left.

“There are some areas where schools are now totally gone. This sends a signal to children that they can’t [ever] go back to school again,” Olaya said.

In response, aid agencies and development groups have set up tents as temporary learning spaces for informal children’s play sessions. Using drama, song and dance, children are encouraged to talk about their experiences. Gathering the children in temporary learning spaces is also a way for education officials to track and count the children as well as check on their health.

Typhoon Bopha (local name Pablo), struck Mindanao on 4 December, affecting more than 6.3 million people and leaving an estimated 2,000 dead or missing. More than 200,000 homes were damaged or destroyed.

According to the latest information from the Philippine National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, 13,940 people were still in 87 evacuation centres, as of 25 December, while more than 900,000 were living in the ruins of their homes or staying with host families.

Alabama: Like many states, Alabama is having an earlier and busier flu season than a year ago — though not as bad as the 2009 pandemic. The state Department of Public Health doesn’t tally statewide flu cases but emergency departments have been busy treating patients with flu symptoms. Hospitals have been able to handle the load without using tents or other unusual measures.

Alaska: Flu in Alaska is widespread and occurring throughout the state, though not at the high levels being reported in some other states. There is no vaccine shortage and no flu deaths have been reported in children.

Arizona: Flu cases are increasing in Arizona but authorities aren’t calling it a worse-than-usual season so far. Plenty of vaccine remains. Like many states, Arizona only tallies flu deaths in children; none have been reported so far this season.

Yesterday morning, while I was going to work and reflecting on life and its peculiarities, I heard a conversation between two people. The volume of their voices made it impossible to ignore, plus the topic of the conversation is what particularly caught my attention.

I paid close attention and was petrified to hear that the “cholera virus” was making its rounds in the city of Havana, spreading at an alarming and aggressive rate.

One of the gentlemen (a doctor, from what I could infer by his white coat) spoke of a patient who had presented a clinically suspicious case.

A heavy set woman in her forties had displayed symptoms of vomiting and semi-soft diarrhea, though it had an acceptable color. The doctor was able to stabilize her, avoiding the risk of complicating her situation. Since her condition was stable, the next day she was moved to another ward for observation, where other medical personnel followed up on her case.

He also mentioned that there are cases in which cholera can lead to death in less than 24 hours if it’s not correctly diagnosed (hinting that there are some doctors who aren’t well versed in how to detect the virus due to the variety of its symptoms).

I was thinking about what this person had said, which had me a little worried. Nevertheless, I told myself that if the mass media hadn’t made a fuss about the situation then it probably wasn’t so serious. Surely there had been only three or four cases and an occasional complication due to medical negligence.

That’s what I thought until today, when I get off at the bus station and saw the magnitude of the situation with my own eyes. All the doors were closed except for one that was half opened and guarded by several people. Each person who entered the station was asked to disinfect their hands.

“How awful!” I said to myself, but I was glad that they were taking the appropriate action.

At the same time, though, I regretted the inability of our national press to come up with an effective communications strategy that would plant in the minds of the majority of people the true scale of the existing biological risk, while taking into account the limitations of the nation’s health care system and preventive actions necessary for individuals and in general.

The Jamaica government Friday dismissed media reports that the island is on alert following an outbreak of malaria fever.

Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Michael Coombs in a statement said that the island has had no locally transmitted cases of malaria since 2009.

Last year there were five imported cases of malaria and one confirmed case so far this year.

Dr. Coombs said regarding the media reports of the imported case so far this year, the Ministry of Health has been managing the patient according to World Health Organization guidelines.

“Our public health team has visited the community to check persons with whom the patient had contact. The Ministry is also continuing its routine surveillance which will allow us to be in a position to quickly identify and treat persons if the need arises,” Dr. Coombs said.

Various news sources are commemorating the third anniversary of the quake, and I'll post some of those articles during the day. To begin with, here is my own article from The Tyee, published on January 7: The Haiti that Canada Decided to Freeze.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Saturday vowed to speed up reconstruction of areas ravaged by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami as he inspected disaster-hit firms in Miyagi Prefecture.

In the coastal city of Ishinomaki, Abe visited a shipbuilding firm and a seafood processing facility with reconstruction minister Takumi Nemoto.

"I will consolidate power in the Reconstruction Agency for (more speedy) decisions on reconstruction," Abe said during his inspection of the shipbuilder.
At the seafood processing plant, Abe said he will seek legislation sponsored by lawmakers if necessary to respond to requests by residents in areas in Tohoku devastated by the Great East Japan Earthquake.

It is the second time Abe has visited disaster areas in the northeast since his appointment as prime minister Dec. 26. On Dec. 29, he visited Fukushima Prefecture, where Japan's worst nuclear plant disaster unfolded in the wake of the quake-tsunami double whammy.

On Friday, Abe's Cabinet endorsed an economic stimulus package that, among other goals, is aimed at accelerating reconstruction work in the northeast.